Tag Archives: Resort

A Day at the Four Seasons, Anguilla

When Ben’s cousins, Craig, Bonnie, and Wally, visited us a month ago, they spoiled me. And I mean really spoiled me! One of the fun excursions they treated me to during their trip to Sint Maarten was a day on Anguilla at the Four Seasons Resort.

I’d been to Anguilla several times before, but I’d certainly never been to the Four Seasons! Actually, I’d never been to a hotel nearly as ritzy as this place. I’ve always wondered why the rich and famous want to spend their entire vacations in the Caribbean at a resort. Now I get it.

Oh my word. That pool, that view! Anguilla is known for being beautiful, but the combination of wild natural beauty and manicured perfection was just gorgeous.

Wally and Craig went right to the ping-pong table. You know it’s a good place when there’s table tennis. I hadn’t seen such nice grass in months, and I almost felt like I needed to take my shoes off to walk on it.

Caribbean on Sale

Rooms at Four Seasons Anguilla run several thousand a night – a NIGHT! – so you can imagine how nice this place is. I felt privileged to get to spend the day there.

Bonnie and I enjoyed the infinity pool. It was a great view of the beautiful, powdery white beach below. All of Anguilla’s beaches are fantastic (or so I’ve heard; I’ve only been to three of them), but Mead’s Bay Beach is one of the best.

Talk about a lot of sand! This beach seemed endless, and it was not crowded at all. That’s the wonderful thing about Anguilla. It’s small, but it’s quiet and offers enough space for everyone.


Two Island Cruise of St Maarten and Anguilla

from: Viator

I saw a few people trying to surf along the edge of the beach, which was freaking me out a little. It was so shallow and close to the rocks! I’m not sure what the appeal was, because they were only getting very short rides. Maybe it’s better on other days.

While we were at the Four Seasons in Anguilla, we got to eat at the restaurant there. Did I mention that Craig and Bonnie also spoiled me with food? I don’t think I cooked a single time while they were staying with us!

The food at the Four Season was to die for. Ben often says that the only think I love more than hummus is him. It might possibly be true. I do judge a restaurant by it’s hummus. And this was some of the best hummus I’ve ever had. I may or may not have eaten it with a spoon once the pitas ran out.

They say that time flies when you’re having fun, and it certainly is true. I was surprised when our day was over and it was time to take the ferry back home.

If you want a luxe vacation in Anguilla, the Four Seasons is the place to go. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to stay there, and I’m OK with that, but it sure was a blast to experience the celebrity life for a day!

If you’ve been missing the Caribbean adventures posts, you’ll be glad to know I got access to my photos again! We have them all stored on an external drive that was making scary clicking sounds. Ben backed it up today, so we’re good to go once again! So stay tuned.

Read more about our cousin adventures:

Scuba Diving Creole Rock

The Haunting of La Belle Creole

They have forgotten us. We have faded from memory, like our flesh faded from our bones centuries ago. Yet we are here, invisible yet seeing, inaudible yet hearing, intangible yet sensing. Our spirits laugh with the lapping waves. We cry with the soaring birds. We moan with the wind. And we rage with the storms.

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There was a time when warm blood flowed through our bodies and warm flesh wrapped our bones. We walked on the shore then, cooling our feet in the ancient and everlasting waters. We ran under the tropical sun from shore to shore. Our children dove from the cliffs—how different they looked then!—into the clear waters of the reef. We tasted the sweet meat of the crab and danced in the firelight to the rhythm of the tide.

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Then they came—the strange men with strange words and strange clothing. They were harsh and resolute, and we hated them. They brought with them their vicious dogs, their explosives, and their lust. We grew weak, and our children died with raging heat in their bodies. Our women and men died with boils and scars. We wailed as our loved ones died, and we buried them with broken hearts near the sacred islet. I died, and I lay in the chill earth, away from the warm sunlight.

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They left, and came again, this time with their cannons and ships and slaves. They had already forgotten us, and they walked on our graves. I heard their footsteps on the ground above. They dragged their cannons over our graves and shattered our silence with their wars. They annihilated our peace with the crack of whips on human flesh.

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They left, and others took their place. Generations lived and died. We slept in peace for a hundred years, with only the occasional wanderer to stir us.

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They came. Their machines roared, rattling our bones. They dug over our resting places, and built great structures over our graves. I felt the pressure of a great tower over my body. We groaned under the weight. Many people came from the whole world over, and trod on our sacred tombs. We moaned, but our cries were lost in the wind. Our bloodless beings saw the blush of the new bride. Our bleached bones saw the sun-kissed skin of the happy travelers. We remembered what we had been, and what we had lost. And we remembered that we were forgotten.

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Our moans whirled as wind around the whitewashed walls that had become a monument to our destruction. Our screams filled the air, and our souls ripped from our broken bones. We broke through the sandy earth, through the cracking concrete to the surface. We felt again the humidity of the air. We knew again the roar of the sea. Our tears of rage and loss poured from the heavens, and the rush of our agony ripped through the trees. We stirred the elements and raged from sea to sea, screaming our anger through the darkening sky. We saw them pour from buildings and take flight from our island home. We saw them take cover in every nook and cranny. We saw that they were afraid, and we took our vengeance.

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We tore through the quaint buildings, tearing with invisible claws at the rich furnishings of each room. The sound of shattering glass was lost in the volume of our screams. We threw the books, the paintings, the decorations out of the windows and doors. We destroyed their world, just as they had destroyed ours.

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We satiated our lust for vengeance, and we regarded the havoc we had wreaked. Shredded curtains floated in the gentle breeze. Glass and splinters carpeted the earth. Not a living soul was to be seen.

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Only dead ones.

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We could not return to our graves. We could not penetrate the earth again. So we haunted the empty rooms, weeping in silence. We could not return the decayed flesh to our bodies or our island home to our children. We could only swear to defend the site of our sacred graves to the end of time.

 

These eerie photos are were taken in the ruins of La Belle Creole, a resort that was deserted after it was heavily damaged when Saint Martin was struck by Hurricane Luis in 1995. Local superstition states that the resort was built over an ancient Arawak grave site, which is why no modern building projects have been successful on the peninsula. Of course, I don’t believe in haunting spirits or jinxes, but I found the legend interesting and the ruins creepy enough to warrant a paranormal telling of La Belle Creole’s story. 

The Sonesta Resort in Maho, Sint Maarten

If you are looking for a nice place to stay on your Sint Maarten vacation, be sure to think about Sonesta Resort in Maho. This weekend, I had the opportunity to babysit there for an American University of the Caribbean employee. The resort is both adult and kid-friendly, with great things to do for all ages. The kids especially enjoyed Sonesta’s giant pool and the kids’ club room! I liked the view of Maho beach from the dining patio.

Somesta is an all-inclusive resort, and offers both day passes and overnight stays. Let me give you a tour of the resort!

Sonesta Resort

Welcome to Sonesta! Your five-minute drive from Princess Juliana Airport takes you past Maho beach to this resort at the entrance to Maho. The first thing you see as you enter is the spacious lobby. Even before you leave the lobby, there is so much to do! The lobby contains a computer area, a casino, a shelf of books, shopping, a grand piano, a ping-pong table and several board games.

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If you take an elevator up, you can enjoy the Sonesta Spa, where you can get a nice massage. Of course, I did not do this, but I imagine that it is a good way to relax. Also up the elevator are ten floors of rooms. The rooms are comfortable and roomy.

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View from the top level of the resort

The best part of the resort, in my opinion, is outside. The pool is amazing! It is at least twice as large as most pools and has a quaint bridge crossing from one side to the other. Sometimes, there is a waterfall over the pool. At one end is a swim-up bar that serves alcohol as well as non-alcoholic drinks. One of the kids ordered a nonalcoholic pina colada that looked delicious.

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In addition to the pool, the resort also has a beach entry. Like all of Sint Maarten beaches, it has gorgeous white sand and crystal-clear water.

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You can enjoy this view from either the bar or the dining area. The buffet spread for each meal is amazing. Entrees, fruit juice, sides, delectable desserts– yummy! To my great amusement, one the kids came back from the buffet with just a roll and butter. Sometimes there is such a thing as a little too much variety, I guess.  One of the cool things about this patio is that you can watch the planes land and take off from Princess Juliana Airport. Maho Beach, just across the bay, is famous for the planes that fly low overhead and blast beach-goers with sand.

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There are plenty just-for-kids things to do here, too! Outside is a rainbow jungle-gym for kids to get out their wiggles while parents enjoy the ocean view.

Inside is the Maho Bungalow Kids’ Club. This is a childcare area that is a lot of fun for the kiddos! There is an indoor playground, movies, video games, a giant-sized Connect Four, and organized activities. Eduardo and the rest of the team do a great job keeping kids entertained and safe from 10:00 am-5:00 pm while parents conduct business or enjoy what Maho has to offer. Sometimes they have weekend night pajama parties from 7:30-9:00 pm.

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Historically, the AUC spouses organization takes a day trip to Sonesta to celebrate the fifth semester spouses last week in Sint Maarten. I’m looking forward to returning to Sonesta! Maybe Ben and I will even have a “daycation” there after block exams sometime.

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